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Key Local Government Officials to Keynote The Bond Buyer's Symposium on Distressed Municipalities

Officials From N.Y., R.I., Ky., Penn., Mich., and Ohio to Speak

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Feb 25, 2013) - The Bond Buyer, SourceMedia's flagship daily news source covering the $3.5 trillion municipal bond industry, will hold its Second AnnualSymposium on Distressed Municipalities on March 18-19, 2013 at the Omni Providence (formerly the Westin) in Rhode Island. The event delivers solutions that will help policy makers and market participants diagnose the sources of financial distress, identify proven turnaround strategies and gain practical, peer-level advice on the best tactics for implementing those plans.

"As the economy slowly recovers, the road map for fiscal rebirth is becoming clearer and political leaders have been forced by necessity to adopt innovative solutions," said Michael Stanton, publisher of The Bond Buyer. "The key now is to spread the word about the success stories, so other communities can learn from those experiences."

Government Officials Delivering Keynote Addresses:

Honorable Gina Raimondo, general treasurer, state of Rhode Island

Honorable Lincoln Chafee, governor, state of Rhode Island

Andy Dillon, treasurer, state of Michigan

The experienced speaking faculty includes a mix of policy makers from communities facing distress today, as well as cities and counties that have recovered, including:

Rosemary Gallogly, director of revenue, state of Rhode Island

DeMaine Kitchen, chief of staff to the mayor, Youngtown, Ohio

Scott Kunka, finance director, city of Pittsburgh

Honorable Richard Ravitch, former lieutenant governor, New York state; co-chair of the state budget crisis task force

Scott Shapiro, senior advisor to the mayor, Lexington, Kentucky

Joe Watkins, receiver, Chester Upland School District

"Local governments continue to face significant financial challenges, making difficult decisions on spending cuts, borrowing, and planning for the future. The roster of speakers and panelists is a virtual 'who's who' in finance and government, and with PFM's ongoing commitment to client education, this seemed an excellent opportunity to share experiences and strategies with a broad spectrum of government officials," said Dean Kaplan, a managing director of the PFM Group and conference co-chair.

"We are building upon the success of last year's inaugural Symposium by assembling another outstanding slate of panels and speakers, with a particular focus on pension obligations and pension reform. We have moved the Symposium to another key battleground state focused on local government fiscal reform and are excited about the prospects of another year of in-depth dialogue between the attendees and the speakers," said William C. Rhodes, partner, public finance department chair and the practice leader of Ballard Spahr's municipal recovery initiative.

About The Bond BuyerEstablished in 1891, The Bond Buyer reaches more than 40,000 municipal finance professionals, bond issuers, government officials, and investors daily, through its web site and printed edition. It provides readers news, analysis, and data regarding municipal finance that is unavailable in its comprehensive form in any other news outlet. The Bond Buyer's 10 annual conferences are attended by more than 2,000 market participants, and offer in-depth education about cutting-edge public-finance topics, ranging from local government finance and budgeting to how to raise capital to fund large-scale investments in the nation's transportation, health care, higher education, and public utilities infrastructure.

About SourceMediaSourceMedia, (www.sourcemedia.com), an Investcorp company, is a diversified business to business media company serving the financial industry and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers professional publications and online information services, industry-standard data applications, and in-depth seminars and conferences.